Happy Halloween, sitting here...and not getting a single trick or treater, we never have since I lived here (busy road).

I finished fewer books this month than I have with previous months, but I didn't too bad with 13. I also managed to pull off a black-out on Halloween Bingo. So yay me. Again, most of my read books are technically Audiobooks, so hey, what can I say? I really like them. I had some decent books for the month, but I'm still feeling disappointed by The Darkest Star...I was really excited about it when I got approved for it on Netgalley.

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

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~MY QUICKIE REVIEW~

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A very dark, twisted and decidedly adult twist on Alice in Wonderland. It really reminds me of the TV show Gotham. All, or at least some, of the usual suspects, were there including the Jabberwocky. Some of them have variations of names like Hatcher instead of Hatter. While I didn't like this as much as The Mermaid or Lostboy, it was a decent story, except for that anti-climatic ending. The most disappointing aspect of this was the narrator, most of the voices she did for other characters were sadly pathetic. The narrator is supposed to put you in the story...not take you out of it.

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~MY RATING~

☆3.5☆STARS - GRADE=B-

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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~

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Plot~ 3.8/5

Main Characters~ 3.7/5

Secondary Characters~ 3.2/5

The Feels~ 3/5

Pacing~ 3.7/5

Addictiveness~ 3.5/5

Theme or Tone~ 3/5

Flow (Writing Style)~ 3.7/5

Backdrop (World Building)~ 3.7/5

Originality~ 4/5

Ending~ 3/5 Cliffhanger~ It has closure, but it does end sort of abruptly.

Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn't bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.

T. Barnum was looking for marvelous attractions for his American Museum, and he'd heard a rumor of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. He wanted to make his fortune, and an attraction like Amelia was just the ticket.

Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he's determined to hold on to his mermaid.

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~MY QUICKIE REVIEW~

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This was truly fantastic! A beguiling, slightly fantastical tale about a curious mermaid, and where her curiosity took her. Taking us from the coast of Maine to New York, Charleston and beyond. Amelia, the name she picked for herself, is haunting and alluring and you can't help but love her.

Centered around a reimagining of a hoax played by P.T. Barnum about the Feejee Mermaid, in early 1840's New York, with a tour ending in Charleston, SC.

-Advertisement for the Feejee Mermaid from the Charleston Courier, January 1843

The Mermaid is a story about what it means to be human or humane, actually. It's also about love, friendships, and loyalty. I highly recommend.

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~MY RATING~

☆5☆STARS - GRADE=A+

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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~

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Plot~ 5/5

Main Characters~ 5/5

Secondary Characters~ 5/5

The Feels~ 5/5

Pacing~ 5/5

Addictiveness~ 4.5/5

Theme or Tone~ 5+/5

Flow (Writing Style)~ 5/5

Backdrop (World Building)~ 5/5

Originality~ 5/5

Ending~ 5/5

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Book Cover~ It's very good

Publisher~ Berkley Publishing

Setting~ New York City, 1840's

Source~ I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I liked this book and thought it was well done. I do have to say that this book was a little different than I expected. That isn't a bad thing since I like being surprised by the books that I am reading. I loved Christina Henry's previous book, Lost Boy, so I was really excited to see what she would do with this mermaid tale. I found the book to be incredibly well written and quite entertaining.

One of the reasons that this book may have surprised me a bit is due to the fact that my mermaid knowledge is quite limited. I have watched the Disney movie more times than I can count but that is really my total mermaid experience. I did see a few similarities between this book and the Disney film but only at the very start of the story.

I liked Amelia and thought her view of the world was quite refreshing. While women around her concerned themselves with the opinions of others and propriety, Amelia cared little about how others saw her. She did not want to see anyone come to harm and really had a very kind heart. I loved her relationship with P.T. Barnum's young daughter, Caroline, and wife, Charity. Levi and Barnum were both great characters as well. Barnum always had dollar signs in his eyes and didn't always do the right thing but I was impressed that he would back down in certain situations. Levi wanted to protect Amelia and it was quite obvious how much he cared for her.

As I mentioned this book wasn't quite what I thought it would be. Based on my experience reading Lost Boy, I expected a much darker story. As I read, I kept thinking about all the evil things that could potentially happen but I just couldn't guess the turns this book would make since it went in a completely different direction than I thought it would. In some ways the story made me sad. It is terrible the way that human beings will treat each other not to mention animals in our care. I also think it would have been very hard to be a woman during this period of time.

I would recommend this book to others. It was a nice combination of fantasy and historical fiction seen through the eyes of a mermaid that is often more human than those around her. I look forward to reading more from Christina Henry very soon.

I received an digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley.

Initial ThoughtsThis was good. A little different than I had expected it to be but very good. I liked Ameila and thought that the way she looked at the world was somewhat refreshing.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Full review to be posted soon.

I usually can finish about nine to ten books a month, but this month I've read/listened to fourteen. It's amazing how many books I can get through when I'm not working. I'm currently on medical leave due to the foot surgery that I had on March 20th. I should be off until the middle of June...so hopefully, I'll have at least a couple more good reading months.

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